Henry Gregory "Harry" Armbruster (March 20, 1882 – December 10, 1953), also known as "Army" Armbruster, was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player whose career spanned 10 seasons, including one in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

. During that one season, which was in 1906, Armbruster played with the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

. Armbruster, an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

, compiled a major league

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .238 with 40 runs, 63

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

, six doubles, three

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

, two

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, 24

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBIs) and 13

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s in 91

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Associat ...

. Armbruster also played in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

with the Class-A

Providence Grays The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National ...

; the Class-B

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...

, baseball team; the Class-B Lawrence Colts; the Class-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

; the Class-A

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They previ ...

; and the Class-B Syracuse Stars. In the minors, Armbruster compiled a batting average .292 with 1,159 hits in 1,101 games played.

Professional career

Armbruster began his

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

career in 1902 with the

of the Class-A Eastern League. That season, he batted .253 with 62

and eight doubles in 67

. In 1903, Armbruster continued playing with the Providence team. On the season, he batted .257 with 68 runs, 120 hits, 14 doubles, five

, two

s and 20

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out a ...

in 131 games played. During the 1904 season, Armbruster played for two teams; the Grays, who he had played with for the past two seasons, and the Class-B

based,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

baseball team. With Providence, he batted .272 with 41 hits, two doubles and one triple in 45 games played. In 48 games with the Manchester team, Armbruster batted .362 with 63 hits, two doubles and seven triples. As a member of the Manchester club, Armbruster's batting average was second amongst batters in the

New England League The New England League was a mid-level league in American minor league baseball that played intermittently in five of the six New England states (Vermont excepted) between 1886 and 1949. After 1901, it existed in the shadow of two Major League B ...

. During the 1905 season, Armbruster split the season between the Manchester club and the Lawrence Colts, both of the New England League. Between the two teams, he batted .339 with 134 hits in 107 games played. Armbruster led the New England League in hits and was second in batting average. Armbruster signed with the

in February 1906. He joined the team for

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, that season. Armbruster was used a replacement for Danny Hoffman who was traded to the

New York Highlanders The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one ...

for the rights to negotiate with outfielder

Dave Fultz David Lewis Fultz (May 29, 1875 – October 29, 1959) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He played Major League Baseball as a center fielder in the National League with the Philadelphia Phillies (1898–1899) and Baltimore ...

. Fultz and Athletics

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. Mack holds records for the most wins (3,731), losses (3,948), ties (76), and ga ...

never reached an agreement. Armbruster was scheduled assigned to the Newark minor league team for the start of the season; however, Mack added him to the major league roster before he appeared in a game. He made his debut in

on April 30, 1906. On June 23, against

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Joe Harris, Armbruster hit his first major league home run. He primarily played

center field A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the cen ...

as a member of the Athletics. During the season, he compiled a batting average of .238 with 40 runs, 63 hits, six doubles, three triples, two home runs, 24

and 13

s in 91 games played. On defense, he played a total of 74 games in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In bat and ball games ...

, committing four

errors An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

in 137

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

. After the 1906 season, Armbruster was released by the Philadelphia Athletics and joined the

of the Class-A American Association for the 1907 season. During that season, '' Sporting Life'' described Armbruster as the "best outfielder and hitter in the American Association". In September, Armbruster was sidelined with an injury. With the Mud Hens, Armbruster batted .322 with 161 hits, 32 doubles, eight hits and five home runs in 133 games played. He was seventh in the league in doubles and eight in batting average. In 1908, he continued playing for the Mud Hens and batted .272 with 148 hits, 37 doubles, five triples and one home run in 148 games played. That season, he was third in the American Association in doubles. Before the 1909 season, the Class-A

of the American Association offered to trade

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

Eddie Tiemeyer to the Toledo Mud Hens in exchange for Armbruster, but the deal was declined. Toledo later sold Armbruster to the St. Paul club for US$1,000. In 148 games played that season, he batted .283 with 154 hits, 33 doubles, two triples and two home runs. Amongst league batters that season, Armbruster was fifth in doubles and eight in batting average. In 1910, he joined the Syracuse Stars of the Class-B

New York State League The New York State League was an independent baseball league that played six seasons between 2007 and 2012 in New York State and the New York City metro area. Over 500 NYSL players have been signed by professional teams. Players from forty-eigh ...

. That season, Armbruster batted .302 with 137 hits in 133 games played. Amongst league batters, he was ninth in batting average and tenth in hits. Armbruster spent his final season in professional baseball with the Stars in 1911. That season, he batted .284 with 139 hits in 141 games played. Hit hits total ranked sixth in the league.

Later life

After retiring from professional baseball, Armbruster found work as a

machinist A machinist is a tradesperson or trained professional who operates machine tools, and has the ability to set up tools such as milling machines, grinders, lathes, and drilling machines. A competent machinist will generally have a strong mechan ...

Personal

Armbruster was born on March 20, 1882, in Liverpool, Ohio, which is now known as

Valley City, Ohio Valley City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in central Liverpool Township, Medina County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 943. History In 1810, Seba Bronson, Jr., a Revolutionary ...

. He married Carrie Frenke, of

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

on February 6, 1906. Armbruster died on December 10, 1953, in Cincinnati, Ohio and was buried at St. John Cemetery, Cincinnati.

References

;General references # # ;Inline citations

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armbruster, Harry 1882 births 1953 deaths Baseball players from Medina County, Ohio Philadelphia Athletics players 20th-century American sportsmen Providence Grays (minor league) players Manchester (minor league baseball) players Manchester Colts players Lawrence Colts players Toledo Mud Hens players St. Paul Saints (AA) players Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Major League Baseball outfielders